The Moody Blues have been a favorite of the crew at Omega Productions. For years, they have admired the band’s history and creativity, not to mention being genuine fans. This was not the only time the Omega crew worked with the Moody Blues. In previous years, the company had been called to record a special video shoot of the band along with a second favorite, Chicago, at an outdoor venue in Dallas, which at the time was called Starplex.
So it was with much excitement that the news arrived: Omega Productions had been chosen to record the iconic group in a special PBS outing at the classic Red Rocks Amphitheater just outside Denver, in Morrison, CO. The performance, titled, “The Moody Blues a Night at Red Rocks,” would climax the “Moody Blues Tour of the World” and involve the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, backing the band in a rendition of the group’s classic hits. The video at the bottom of this post contains the show open and the first numbers performed.
The project was brought to the public by PBS, The Mudia Corporation, and Polygram Records. Lionel Schaen and John Scher served as Executive Producers. Lionel Schaen, Tom Hulett, and Tim Snow served as Producers. The executive in charge of production was Niki Scher. Michele Tafoya served as Production Manager. F. Douglas Travis was the Director.
Omega Productions recorded the project with the company’s 48-track mobile unit. They worked with Denver-based Professional Sound and Recording (PSR) and Audio Producer Chris Mickle to capture the music portions of the show across 72 digital tracks. PSR handled the recording of the Colorado Symphony on a Sony 3324 24-track machine, while Omega tracked the Moody’s band on a Sony 3348 48-track recorder. Omega supplied the setup and operation of the digital equipment through Dreamhire’s Nashville office.
Omega’s Remote Recording Director, Steve Lowney, served as Unit Manager and Technical Engineer. Omega’s Julie Haldeman served as Stage Engineer, ensuring the efficient routing of some 132 inputs to various locations around the arena and outside to Omega’s mobile as well as the video truck. Lowney was also instrumental in seeing that the multiple feeds, such as orchestra and band, were merged into a successful digital recording on Sony 3348 recorders. He also assisted Tom Garneau, who engineered and mixed the CD and Video soundtrack release.
One of the highlights of the project was the fax Lowney received from Tom Garneau, complimenting him on the quality of the recorded tracks. Engineering the orchestral portions was David Wilson, assisted by PSR’s Phil Crumrine. Denver-based KWGN and Flash Video provided video facilities.
The project has become one of the most recognized and endearing live concert television specials in televised history. Because of the project’s public acceptance, PBS has used footage from the concert in pledge drives throughout the 90s and 2 K.
Working on this project was indeed one of the highlights of our careers and remains one of the most-watched and listened-to projects recorded by the company.
